Paleopathology of rheumatism in paintings • 219 



FiGURK 8. Patient suffering from biopsy-proved 

 temporal arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica. 



In order to illustrate the great realistic capacity of Jan Van 

 Eyck, and the likelihood of our diagnosis, the clinical picture 

 of a patient with identical features at the temporal region and 

 whose biopsy showed giant cell arteritis is shown (Figure 8). 



Recently I discovered that a German dermatologist. Roth 

 (1969), had made the same diagnosis in 1969. Mcige ( 1924) 

 described vascular abnormality in the temporal region in four 

 paintings, but did not mention the painting of Jan Van Eyck. 



The Canon was probably not the only sufferer from this 

 disease during these centuries. Signs of temporal arteritis can 

 be seen in Piero di Cosimo's Portrait of Francesco Gambetti 

 ( 1505), now in the Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam. 



Osteoarthritis 



In another painting by Jan Van Eyck, "The Lamb of God" 

 retable (Ghent), 1 found one of the few convincing evidences 

 of osteoarthritis in paintings. The distal intcrphalangeal joint 

 of the thumb of St. John Baptist shows clearly Hebcrdcn 

 nodes (Figure 9), the overall landmark of generalized os- 

 teoarthritis as shown in a picture of a contemporar>' patient 

 (Figure 10). A similar Heberden-likc (knucklepad-like) 

 swelling around the joints can be seen in two paintings 

 by Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644): "The Old Coquette" 

 (Moscow) and "The Lute Player" (Vienna). This prominence 

 at the bending of fingers might be a convention of mannerism 

 as suggested by Ehrlich (1987). 



Ziturvh Pateopalholo^y Symp. I9HH 



Figure 9. Jan Van Eyck; The Lamb of God reta- 

 ble (detail); Ghent, St. Bavo Cathedral. Heber- 

 den nodes on the thumb of St. John Baptist. 



Figure 10. Patient with llcbcrden nodes at the distal intcr- 

 phalangeal joints. 



